Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) subscribers may currently select inter-exchange carriers (IECs) for inter-exchange telephone calls in one of two fashions. First, a subscriber may designate a default IEC through which all of the subscriber's telephone calls are automatically routed. Obviously, however, this type of IEC selection is insufficient when, for any number of potential reasons, most commonly current IEC rates, the subscriber wishes to have one or more of its telephone calls routed through a particular IEC other than the designated default IEC.
As a result, an AIN subscriber may also manually select an IEC through which the subscriber's telephone calls are routed. Such manual selection of an IEC allows the subscriber to choose, for example, the IEC having the least expensive toll at the time the subscriber places a telephone call. However, while allowing greater freedom of choice, manual IEC selection still presents a variety of problems for the subscriber.
First, to choose an IEC other than the designated default IEC, the subscriber must employ manual selection each and every time a telephone call is placed. Moreover, to maximize the effectiveness of manual IEC selection, the subscriber must either be knowledgeable regarding various IEC parameters, or have ready access to such information. That is, in the example cited above, to effectively select the IEC having the least expensive rate, the subscriber must know all of the available IECs, as well as their various rates. To complicate matters, IEC rates may vary not only from day to day, but from hour to hour as well.
Finally, by its very nature, manual selection of an IEC is made before the subscriber places a telephone call. In that sense, manual selection of an IEC is not a "real time" selection, where an IEC is automatically chosen at the same time the subscriber places a telephone call. Thus, even where the subscriber is knowledgeable regarding the available IECs, manual IEC selection can be time consuming and inefficient. Indeed, in the example cited above regarding rates, by having to manually select an IEC each time a telephone call is placed, the subscriber may sacrifice in productivity the very savings realized by reduced rates.
Various systems and methods exist for routing telephone calls in general. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,604 issued to Ryan discloses a system and method for serving a telephone caller from two switching systems. The system and method are designed for customers that change from an analog to a digital switching system, but wish to maintain their original telephone number which is associated with an analog switching system. The system and method thus establish connections over a telephone network to a customer whose telephone number is associated with a first switching system, but is actually served by a second switching system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,848 issued to Pula discloses a system and method for telecommunication call processing. The system and method utilize an intelligent peripheral device to recognize service request information provided by a customer, via dialing or speech. If necessary, the peripheral device is capable of supplying digits or characters to a switch such that the customer service request is properly executed.
Neither of these systems and methods, however, are adapted to select one of a plurality of IECs through which a telephone call will be routed. More specifically, neither of these systems and methods are adapted for real time selection of the IEC having the least expensive toll at the time the telephone call is placed. Moreover, no such systems or methods as just described are known, particularly for use in conjunction with AIN.